In the operation of a multi-unit rotary offset printing press, freshly printed sheets are transported by transfer devices from one printing unit to another, and then they are delivered to a sheet stacker. Sheet transfer devices are known by various names including transfer cylinders, support rollers, delivery wheels, delivery cylinders, skeleton wheels, transfer drums, support wheels, guide wheels and the like. The ink marking problems inherent in transferring freshly printed sheets have been longstanding. In order to minimize the contact area between the transfer cylinder and the printed sheet, conventional support wheels have been modified in the form of relatively thin disks having a toothed or serrated circumference, referred to as skeleton wheels. However, those types of wheels have not overcome the problems of smearing and marking the printed surface of the printed sheet material due to sliding action between the printed sheet material and the projections or serrations. Moreover, the attempts to minimize the surface support area in contact with the sheet material has also resulted in actual indenting or dimpling of the material itself.